The disclosed invention is generally directed to DC to DC power supplies, and is more particularly directed to a DC to DC power supply which operates at very high frequencies with high DC voltage sources.
DC to DC power supplies are utilized in applications where the originating power source provides a DC voltage and the required voltage is a DC voltage different from that provided by the originating power source. Typically, the originating DC power is converted to AC power, for example, in square wave or sinewave form, which is appropriately stepped up or stepped down with a transformer. The transformed AC power is appropriately rectified and filtered to provide the desired DC power.
It is recognized in the art that higher AC operating frequencies provide reduced size and weight of power supplies, thereby increasing power density (i.e., the amount of power output per unit volume of circuitry). However, considerations such as transformer size, reduced transformer coupling, and switching losses have prevented the utilization of very high frequencies, for example, 20 MHz and greater, with existing DC to DC power supply designs.
A further consideration with existing DC to DC power supply designs is the inability to convert high DC voltages at very high frequencies due to device operating limitations.